The present application relates generally to wind turbines and more particularly relates to wind turbine rotor blades with extension tip sleeves.
Most environment friendly energy sources presently available come from wind power that is considered to be one of the cleanest. In this regard, wind turbines have gained increased attention. Wind turbines generate electricity by effectively harnessing energy in the wind via a rotor having a set of rotor blades that turns a gearbox and generator, thereby converting mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
To ensure that wind power remains a viable energy source, efforts have been made to increase energy output by modifying the size, configuration and capacity of wind turbines. One such modification has been to extend the tip of each wind turbine rotor blade. Such a tip extension can be employed to improve the overall efficiency and performance of a wind turbine. The tip extension results in larger rotor area and hence leads to increase in Annual Energy Production (AEP). The tip area of existing blades typically does not include any internal structure to support additional loads due to an extended blade. Moreover, the tip extension includes cutting off the existing blade tip first, which is done in order to attach a new tip extension. This modification is cumbersome and cannot be done uptower.
There is therefore a desire for a wind blade and method for improved aerodynamic and structural performance of the wind blade. Such wind blades should improve overall system efficiency while being inexpensive to fabricate and providing a long lifetime.